FACT 1

49,000 Estimated number of U.S. adults who died in 2005 of heart or lung disease associated with inhaling secondhand smoke, according to the Surgeon General

FACT 2

430 is the estimated number of babies who died last year of a variety of sudden infant death syndrome caused by secondhand smoke

FACT 3

For every 8 smokers that die of a smoking related illness, they take one nonsmoker with them.

FACT 4

A single cigarette contains over 4,000 chemicals, including 200 known poisons and more than 60 chemicals known to cause cancer.

FACT 5

About 1 out of 3 of young smokers will eventually die from a tobacco related disease.

FACT 6

Over 80% of all adult smokers started smoking before they turned 18.

FACT 7

In as little as 2 weeks nicotine changes the brains chemistry and addiction can begin.

FACT 8

Every year cigarettes leave about 31,000 kids fatherless.

FACT 9

Every year, secondhand smoke is responsible for 35,000-40,000 deaths from heart disease and 3,000 deaths from lung cancer in people who do not smoke.

FACT 10

Every year, between 200,000 and 1 million asthmatic kids suffer from increasingly severe asthma attacks due to secondhand smoke.

FACT 11

Second hand smoke hurts kids more severely than it hurts adults. WHY?

1. Children’s lungs are smaller and their immune systems are weaker than adult’s. Therefore, they are more vulnerable to respiratory (lung) and ear infections caused by second-hand smoke.
2. Children are smaller, and breathe faster than adults. They take in more harmful chemicals per pound of their weight than an adult would in the same amount of time.
3. Children have less choice than adults. Children who don’t want to be around smoke cannot tell us. And, children may not be allowed to leave a smoke-filled environment even if they did ask.

Sources:

• FACT 1 & 2: TIME.com
• FACT 3: Secondhandsmokesyou.com
• FACT 4: Freevibe.com
• FACT 5-8: TheTruth.com
• FACT 9 & 10: Cancer.org
• FACT 11: Canadian Health

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